It’s been five months since Vine hit the app stores. We’ve seen some brands excel in using the 6-second video application, while others have missed the mark. What’s refreshing and exciting, however, is seeing brands devote full campaigns to the relatively-new platform.
Media Logic's Retail Social Juice Index (RSJI) saw some familiar brands ranking at the top of the Index, along with a few newcomers. Talbots earned the highest spike of the week when it combined two sure-fire crowd pleasers: promotional codes and free giveaways. The brand offered free shipping for its Facebook likers and a fan appreciation giveaway that offered one lucky winner a new pair of shoes every month for a year. Delighted Talbots fans responded with enthusiasm, taking to the brand’s Timeline to express positive brand sentiment.
Lowe’s, a brand that has topped the RSJI for less than positive reasons, tried something different to engage with fans — and certainly succeeded this time.
Lowe’s Home Improvement shot to the top of Media Logic's Retail Social Juice Index, breaking all kinds of records—for all the wrong reasons. In case you missed this story, say, because you’ve spent the week in a sensory deprivation tank, here’s the short of it. Lowe’s had purchased time and was running spots on a new TLC reality show titled “All-American Muslim.” This ad buy evidently generated a number of complaints, whipped up, it appears, by a relatively (previously) unknown conservative group called The Florida Family Association. According to most reports, Lowe’s pulled its ads in response to these complaints. This action generated a firestorm. Lowe’s RSJI score jumped 330 points to 391 on Tuesday, December 13. It jumped another 97 points on Wednesday, and then spiked a scary 469 points on Thursday, topping out at 896. (For comparison, the average RSJI number for 408 brands currently being scored by Media Logic was 46 on Thursday. The #2 brand on the Index, American Girl, scored 267. The previous record high score was 450, again by American Girl.) Lowe’s number is clearly exceptional. And in this case, it is exceptionally bad. The question is, can it teach us something?